How to Maintain Your Garden Through Winter

Winter is not a time to abandon the garden — it is an opportunity to protect, prepare and plan for the season ahead. Here is our practical guide to winter garden maintenance.

Protect Tender Plants

Many garden favourites — agapanthus, echiums, tree ferns and citrus — are not fully hardy and need winter protection.

Wrap tender plants with horticultural fleece

Move pots of tender plants into a greenhouse, porch or garage

Apply a thick mulch of bark or straw around the base of borderline hardy plants

Prune Deciduous Shrubs and Roses

Winter is the ideal time to prune many deciduous shrubs and roses, when you can see the structure clearly and before growth begins.

Cut roses back by about a third in late autumn to prevent wind rock, then prune properly in late winter

Remove dead, diseased and crossing branches from shrubs

Hard prune buddleia, lavatera and other vigorous shrubs in late winter

Prepare Borders

Winter is an excellent time to work on your borders:

Add a thick layer of garden compost or well-rotted manure as a mulch

Remove annuals and tender plants that have finished

Lift and divide overgrown perennial clumps

Maintain Lawn

Avoid walking on frozen or waterlogged grass

Continue to mow on mild days if the grass is growing, at a higher setting than usual

Clear fallen leaves promptly to prevent yellowing

Clean and Store Garden Furniture

Clean and store garden furniture to prolong its life. Teak and hardwood furniture should be cleaned and oiled. Metal furniture should be checked for rust and treated if needed.

Plan for Spring

Winter is the perfect time to review garden photographs from the previous year, browse plant nursery catalogues and plan improvements. If you are considering a garden redesign, now is the ideal time to begin discussions with our design team.